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In qigong, connection to earth and heaven is clearly important. I believe that much initial work is setting up alignment and body conditioning so that we can experience support from the ground beneath our feet; that is my experience. I work on establishing a benevolent connection to the earth both through gardening (caring for the soil) and in qigong (where I like the subtle rising support that seems to give me access to an inner elastic quality, even in a simple arm swing). Any comments welcome! But I would also be grateful for information on how we 'experience' the energy of heaven. And is cosmic energy the same as heaven? Or does cosmic include both heaven and earth energy?

"Out with the old", its echo glistening unlike a fossil, shivering without as much a tussle. "They say the night sky speaks, whispers of change; un-change, no change." "If Poseidon dies what will rise?" Look to the tide, is it Purple Inside?

I would like to revisit Chapter 23. There have been some really good discussions in the past but there are couple of ideas I encountered that I think tie the two sections of Ch23 together in a different light and extend understanding a little beyond the usual interpretation. First Section In looking at first six lines, I noticed that they are often translated that winds and storms "cannot" last the whole day. But just as often are translated as "do/does not". That was critical for me as it seemed that "cannot" kinda implies that there is some external constraint involved; perhaps Heaven and Earth but then that suggests wind and rain are something separate. When rendered as "do/does not" it suggests that wind and rain are natrual expressions of Heaven and Earth; there is something intrinsic at work. I then recalled Ch40: Reversion is the action of Tao. (Lin Yutang) This led me to think of Heaven and Earth as representative of a cyclic process. Under Heaven and Earth, wind and rain arise, expend tthemselves and return to a state of calm. So, to be in accord with Dao, one should emulate the cycle of nature. One should arise to activity, then having accomplished (expended) return to a stste of calm and quiet. Second Section The remaining lines then might be taken to illustrate the state of one who is in accord with Dao. But what is it about having calmed down thst allows one to be in accord with Dao? I found a possible answer to this in the concept of ganying. Based on analysis of proto-Daoist texts by Dan G Ried in The Thread of Dao: Ganying is the phenomenon of mutual attraction that exists between things of the same type, This seems to suggest that by calming oneself (meditative state) that the unity of all under Heaven and Earth can be realised. Conclusion This was important to me because it suggests that being in accord with Dao is not purely a philosphical position; that being in accord can be understood as a process. That through the practice of periodically calming onself and experiencing the unity of Dao one can gradually come into accord. This was a real epiphany for me. It connects the philosophy with practice. So, I thought I would put this out there for comment and discussion.

Each one of us here on Earth is an Individualized Manifestation of the Very Source of All That Is!God is nothing but the Very Consciousness that pervades the entire Universe!!Your soul script or what all you will go through and what you will become is more or less decided before you are born, though many things are flexible and can be changed to a considerable extent based on the choices you make and the choices that others around you will make in your current life.Your soul script for the current life is decided by the sum total of experiences that you have had in your previous lives and the new lessons that your soul would want to go through in order to achieve a state of balance.The Real Purpose of Our Lives is to Have Blissful, Fulfilling, Enriching and Transformative Experiences. Our Soul Spirit needs these experiences and we keep reincarnating again and again until we have learnt all our lessons across the entire spectrum of experiences.As long as we don't learn our lessons and keep repeating the same mistakes, we will keep going through the same experiences.Then, once the state of contentment is achieved, the soul spirit will have a choice of either achieving Nirvana (Dis-individualization and merging back with Source/Universal Godhead) or to take Greater responsibility and move on to newer experiences in higher realms / dimensions / universes.Thus, everyday, Learn to Live it King Size, stop living it pint size as it comes. Develop a Zest for Life and start creating opportunities for yourself. Take ownership and stop blaming God, rather be thankful to God for granting you this infinite Gift of Human Life.It doesn't matter in what context you are born, in what family and settings you have grown up, know that this is how it was intended to be to enable you to have the required experience that your Soul seeks.In the process, different souls choose different paths, some choose dark/ service to self/ left hand path while other choose light/ service to others/ right hand path. There is no need to feel guilty about your past or present no matter what your background is because all will eventually merge and become One.Always remember that the potential for the Greatest Good and the Greatest God is Already present in each one of Us, All we need to do is to unravel ourselves to the inner most core to uncover the true nature of our own reality that has the Highest Purity, the Greatest and the Mightiest Power of God within it.Realize that each of our lives is invaluable and highly coveted, know that extra-terrestrials from far off stars desperately seek a human incarnation on Earth because this is where lessons are learnt. It is our planet that offers an environment for super fast learning and expedited evolution unlike anywhere else in the entire galaxy.The real evolution is that of the spirit and not the flesh, as our souls learn their lessons, the next birth may be in a more advanced body form in a different dimension commensurate with the settings needed for inculcating the next set of lessons on the souls incredible journey back to Godhead.The absolute truth is that the One Godhead (Paramatma) divided itself into infinite souls (Jeevatmas) so it could have infinite different experiences in infinite different ways.Life in this Universe is an endless pursuit of SAT-CHID-ANANDA. Sat (TRUTH) - Chid (KNOWLEDGE/WISDOM) and Ananda (BLISS/JOY/HAPPINESS).Everything is Science, Everything is Energy, Everything is God. There is no contradiction !What matters is to imbibe the Truth and accept your current state objectively and in a balanced manner. This way, we will be able to further advance the real purpose of our lives by contributing to the greater cause in whichever way we can and thus also serve the group consciousness (our soul families) in the most efficient manner.I searched for God everywhere, I only found myself !I searched for myself in everyone, I only found God !!

These may be going for a song on the US site too: Secret Teachings of Padmasambhava http://www.wisdom-books.com/ProductDetail.asp?CatNumber=25069 A translation of tantric practices from the great Indian master Padmasambhava, who is credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet. These advanced Tibetan Buddhist teachings provide instructions for gathering and harnessing basic life energy, especially concerning transforming sexual energy and re-directing the essence of that energy toward spiritual realization - when used skilfully by committed practitioners with appropriate training. Also here are teachings on the fundamental elements that make up our world. The commentary by Dr.Lipman describes how to use these life energies for personal development. These two brief works of Padmasambhava, Fivefold Essential Instruction and a Section of Hidden Instruction: the Innermost Essence of the Dakini, not only present the tantric teachings on the channels (tsa), energy (lung), and potencies (tigle) in a clear and practical way, but they also offer a unique Dzogchen perspective on them. The Fivefold Essential Instruction shows how the five elemental phases of earth, wind, fire, water, and space operate at deeper and deeper levels of reality. The Section of Hidden Instruction, the Innermost Essence of the Dakini, is a more comprehensive treatment of the five phases from a Dzogchen view. Cascading Waterfall of Nectar http://www.wisdom-books.com/ProductDetail.asp?CatNumber=21825 A profound commentary on two important texts on the preliminary practices, or ngondro, informed by Thinley Norbu's understanding of the concerns of Western practitioners. The main commentary is on the well-known Dudjom Tersar Ngondro, a terma revealed by Dudjom Lingpa. Also included is a second commentary, on a short prayer text (Tsogskhang Dechen) written by Dudjom Rinpoche. Together, these two commentaries offer the occasion for Thinley Norbu Rinpoche to impart his powerful insight into various aspects of the Buddhist path from the tantric point of view.